


In Which Bucky Discovers Self-Care

by TheRaven



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bathing/Washing, M/M, self-care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-25
Updated: 2014-04-25
Packaged: 2018-01-20 17:59:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1519982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRaven/pseuds/TheRaven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Exactly what it says on the tin. Hope y'all enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Which Bucky Discovers Self-Care

After Bucky finally turns himself in and S.H.I.E.L.D. helps him to regain his memories, self-care becomes extremely important to him. He learns the concept in therapy, and the thought that he can take time to do things for himself and only for himself is mind-blowing. He's spent so long only doing what is vitally necessary to his missions that the idea of making himself feel good is completely foreign to him, but he wants to try.

The first step—for Bucky, anyway—is to ask Pepper if she can get him a bar of good-smelling soap. He's too embarrassed to talk to Steve about it, and Pepper has become sort of the den mother of Stark Tower, so he feels comfortable with her. Besides, she always smells amazing. When he asks her, Pepper smiles at him and promises to find something wonderful. She comes back with a bar she says is patchouli-based, and while Bucky has no idea what patchouli is, one whiff of the soap gets him hooked.

He uses it in the shower the next morning, and there's something incredibly indulgent about using a soap not just because it will get his skin clean, but also because it smells good and will make him smell good. The feeling is intoxicating. He spends a good half hour in the shower, just enjoying the scent, and when he finally forces himself to get out and dry off, he can't stop smelling his skin.

Steve starts to ask him why he took so long, but then he catches the scent. And drags him back to bed for an hour and a half. Bucky has to shower again when they're done, and Steve joins him and insists on using the soap as well. They both consider this self-care thing a complete success, even if it is a little distracting.

Bucky wants to know where Pepper got the soap, so she takes him to one of their New York stores. At first, Bucky is overwhelmed by the sheer strength of all the smells, but he quickly gets used to it as he explores every item in the store. Pepper shows him her favorites, most of which are lighter, fruitier scents, and Bucky loves them as much as he loves the heavier, headier scents of other soaps. He wants so many of them that he can't hold them all, so they leave them on the counter until they're done browsing.

Even though they're using one of the company credit cards and Pepper says he can get as much as he wants, Bucky stops at buying the soaps. Not only does he not want to buy more than he'll use, but he still feels awkward having other people spend money on him. Besides, the soaps are expensive. Still, he leaves the store incredibly happy with his purchases, and he makes Pepper promise to take him back sometime.

The soaps keep him content for awhile, but he starts to wonder what else he can do for himself. He asks Natasha, because he doesn't want to bother Pepper again so soon and Natasha always has good ideas. She suggests he try some haircare and skincare products, because while his skin isn't bad at all, his hair has a tendency to turn stringy. Bucky feels like he should be offended by that observation, but he's more excited by the prospect of finding more things to help take care of himself.

Natasha helps him try different shampoos and conditioners until he finds the right combination to make his hair soft and healthy, and she also introduces him to face masks and moisturizers. Bucky takes to them like a duck to water, collecting both her favorites and new ones he decides he likes. She also takes him out for facials and manipedis, which are like heaven to Bucky. Spa day becomes a monthly treat for both of them that Bucky wouldn't miss for the world.

Bruce gets in on the action, too. By now, it's common knowledge in Stark Tower that Bucky is diving headlong into self-care, and rather than make fun of him for it, the Avengers have been encouraging it at every opportunity. So when Bruce suggests he and Bucky get massages, it's just a normal thing for him to do. They go to Bruce's favorite massage place in New York, and Bruce sets Bucky up with who he considers the best massage therapist there. Bucky is a little worried about someone touching him for an hour and a half, but Bruce reminds him that it's these people's job to touch people, and that thought helps get him undressed and on the table.

It turns out he didn't need to worry, because the massage is wonderful. The massage therapist doesn't even blink at his metal arm, and she asks him before she moves on to new areas if he's okay with having them touched. Bruce must have warned her that he was nervous. He comes out of it completely relaxed, and he tips her very well—and not just because he's using another company credit card. Bruce, equally relaxed, tells him he can accompany him every two weeks for more massages if he wants to, and Bucky thanks him profusely.

The other Avengers do their best to help Bucky out, too. Tony buys Bucky and Steve a set of incredibly high thread-count sheets and doesn't even crack a joke about how they'll probably ruin them. Clint shows him how to do his eyeliner—contrary to popular belief, he's the one who taught Natasha, not the other way around—so that he can go the full spectrum between very subtle and hyper-dramatic. Thor gives him a fur blanket that doesn't go with anything in Bucky and Steve's floor but is so warm and comfortable that they don't care.

Steve falls into a lot of the same routines as Bucky. He coordinates his soap with whatever Bucky chooses each morning so that they smell good together, and he goes with Bucky and Pepper to find more soaps and lotions and the like. When he and Bucky share showers, he scrubs him down and dries him off with luxuriously soft towels he found while out looking for a new rug for the bathroom. He even starts wearing face masks, because as ridiculous as they look, they really do work.

Bucky throws himself into self-care so completely that he becomes something of an expert, and soon, the Avengers are coming to him for advice. He helps them find moisturizers and conditioners and soaps and a variety of other products for pampering and caring for themselves, and it helps bring him closer together with them. Eventually, Pepper hosts Avengers Pampering Night, and they all pile into the common living room for a night of indulgent self-care. It becomes a regular thing, though they do have to change the night every once in awhile because of missions.

Every once in awhile, Bucky feels the Winter Soldier lurking in the back of his mind, but he just redoubles his efforts to take good care of himself, and the monster retreats. He knows he'll have to deal with it for good sooner or later, but for now, he can banish the cold brutality with a shower, so he figures he's still doing okay.

**Author's Note:**

> The store Pepper takes Bucky to is called Lush. I adore the company, and I've got a half-dozen soaps from them (because they're all I can afford from them, hah). I highly suggest them for anyone in the States or Canada who wants something indulgent but not horrendously expensive for bath time and/or everyday use. Bonus points for making everything by hand, not testing on animals, and having a lot of vegan products, too. Basically, I'm in love, so when I started writing this, I knew exactly where Bucky would go first.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [In Which Bucky Discovers Self Care (Podfic)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12250569) by [auroreanrave](https://archiveofourown.org/users/auroreanrave/pseuds/auroreanrave)




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